126
visualization and marketing as well as the management of products in the value
chains.
LCM tools enable companies to drive innovative product development focused
on bringing more sustainable products to the market place. The tools and methods
behind them clearly identify the factors whose optimization will directly translate
into improvements in the sustainability profi le, even during the early stages of product development. It facilitates clear understanding of trade-offs and helps in preventing inadvertently shifting environmental impacts from one area to another or
between the economic and environmental pillars. By measuring the impacts on a
system level and including a comprehensive approach to environmental impact
assessment, it also safeguards against potentially reaching false conclusions that
could result when only single metrics were considered.
Life cycle management tools applied in the collaboration and partnerships of
companies and industries is also an effective market communication tool. Since the
entire life cycle of a product is analyzed, the effects on customers along the supply
chain can be quantifi ed and evaluated and thus a more strategic value proposition
can be developed. Communication can also go beyond direct customers with the
results being used to support engagement and education amongst government agencies, regulatory bodies and NGOs.
References
BASF (2015) Sustainable investments. https://www.basf.com/en/company/investor-relations/
sustainable- investments.html
Boustead I (1993) Eco-profi les of the European plastics industry. Report 3: Polyethylene and polypropylene. Report to The European Centre for Plastics in the Environment (PWMI) (later
Association of Plastic Manufacturers in Europe (APMI)), Brussels May 1993
CEFIC (2012) Sustainability of products – what it’s all about. http://www.cefi c.org/Documents/
IndustrySupport/RC%20tools%20for%20SMEs/Document%20Tool%20Box/Sutainability_
of_products_What_its_all_about.pdf
econsense (2014) http://www.econsense.de/sites/all/fi les/Basisfl yer_E_2014%20neu.pdf
EIA (2005) Energy Information Administration (EIA). Residential energy consumption survey.
Energy consumption and expenditures. Tables: www.eia.doe.gov
EPA (2015) Greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator. United States Environmental Protection
Agency. http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html
Kicherer A, Voeste D (2014) Sustainable solution steering, our approach to support our customers.
https://www.basf.com/documents/corp/en/sustainability/management-and-instruments/
sustainable- solution-steering/BASF_Booklet_Sustainable_Solution_Steering.pdf
Landsiedel R, Saling P (2002) Assessment of toxicological risks for life cycle assessment and ecoeffi ciency analysis. Int J Life Cycle Assess 7(5):261–268
Pilz H, Schweighofer J, Kletzer E (2005) The contribution of plastic products to resource effi -
ciency. PlasticsEurope – Association of Plastics Manufacturers, Brussels
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
P. Saling
visualization and marketing as well as the management of products in the value
chains.
LCM tools enable companies to drive innovative product development focused
on bringing more sustainable products to the market place. The tools and methods
behind them clearly identify the factors whose optimization will directly translate
into improvements in the sustainability profi le, even during the early stages of product development. It facilitates clear understanding of trade-offs and helps in preventing inadvertently shifting environmental impacts from one area to another or
between the economic and environmental pillars. By measuring the impacts on a
system level and including a comprehensive approach to environmental impact
assessment, it also safeguards against potentially reaching false conclusions that
could result when only single metrics were considered.
Life cycle management tools applied in the collaboration and partnerships of
companies and industries is also an effective market communication tool. Since the
entire life cycle of a product is analyzed, the effects on customers along the supply
chain can be quantifi ed and evaluated and thus a more strategic value proposition
can be developed. Communication can also go beyond direct customers with the
results being used to support engagement and education amongst government agencies, regulatory bodies and NGOs.
References
BASF (2015) Sustainable investments. https://www.basf.com/en/company/investor-relations/
sustainable- investments.html
Boustead I (1993) Eco-profi les of the European plastics industry. Report 3: Polyethylene and polypropylene. Report to The European Centre for Plastics in the Environment (PWMI) (later
Association of Plastic Manufacturers in Europe (APMI)), Brussels May 1993
CEFIC (2012) Sustainability of products – what it’s all about. http://www.cefi c.org/Documents/
IndustrySupport/RC%20tools%20for%20SMEs/Document%20Tool%20Box/Sutainability_
of_products_What_its_all_about.pdf
econsense (2014) http://www.econsense.de/sites/all/fi les/Basisfl yer_E_2014%20neu.pdf
EIA (2005) Energy Information Administration (EIA). Residential energy consumption survey.
Energy consumption and expenditures. Tables: www.eia.doe.gov
EPA (2015) Greenhouse gas equivalencies calculator. United States Environmental Protection
Agency. http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html
Kicherer A, Voeste D (2014) Sustainable solution steering, our approach to support our customers.
https://www.basf.com/documents/corp/en/sustainability/management-and-instruments/
sustainable- solution-steering/BASF_Booklet_Sustainable_Solution_Steering.pdf
Landsiedel R, Saling P (2002) Assessment of toxicological risks for life cycle assessment and ecoeffi ciency analysis. Int J Life Cycle Assess 7(5):261–268
Pilz H, Schweighofer J, Kletzer E (2005) The contribution of plastic products to resource effi -
ciency. PlasticsEurope – Association of Plastics Manufacturers, Brussels
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
P. Saling